ATTACK ON OLD WOMAN. Bout and frail, under tho weight of 85 years, Mrs Clara Grossman wae on lior way homo to New York recontly, with a silk shawl which she lia&amp;lt;l just purchased as a birthday gift for a little grand-ohilcl, when sho was at tacked by three young men. While ono clasped his hand-, around tho old woman's neck to stifle any cry, tho others pushed her into a dooirway. Thoro they took tho parcel containing tho shawl and her purse, which had about tree dollars in it. As tho three young men hroko away. from hor and ran sho fell to tho floor of the hallway screaming. Her cries attracted tho attention of numerous women on tho side-walk with their baby carriages, and of men in tho shops. Ucroro the three had run a block, five hundred men and women were pursuing them, but they escaped, two by jumping a surface car, and ono by being a faster runner than any ono in th« crowd, Mrs Grossman was sent to her homo with ono oyo discolored from a blow, and suffering from shock...

POET AS STOWAWAY. WANTED TO GET TO LONDON. An American poet, Harry Kemp, was charged at Southampton recently with having been a stowaway on board tho Oceanic. Mr C. F. Hiscock, prosecuting on bohalf of the White Star Line, said the facts wore perfectly Clear. Prisonor wilfully came on board witli tho object of getting out of his own oountry and coming to England. Tho Oceanic left New York on Saturday, September 27, at noon, and at half past five on tho same day, Kemp presented himself at the pur ser's ollico, and handed in tho following letter: - "I am Harry Kemp, a very well known poet, whoso verse-appears quite often in magazines, and I have also a book published; yet, despite all this, X found mysolf penniless in New York, and I wanted £o got to England, whoro I could procure a London publisher, i walked on board y6ur vessel, hoping that 1 might work my1 way." When discovered, it seemed perfectly clear, continued Mr Hiscock, that Kemp mado known his intention in New York of comin...

HASTENING PLANT GROWTH. The now methods of increasing plant growth by artificial means, which have recently given promising results, are de pendent, in the one case, on the light from mercury vapour lamps, and in the other on the use,of radio-active matter incorporated with the soil. The Times states that interesting experiments re cently carried out with meVcury vapour lamps by AOs 10. 0. -Dudgeon in Uum t fries showed that in certain cases seeds germinated several weeks curlier with the aid of the light than 'when grown in the natural way. The time for ger mination under the influence of the ul tra-violet; rays from the lamp was 11 1 days in the case of carrots as against 2(1 days when grown naturally, while maize germinated in eight days instead of Jifty-seven with the aid of the mer cury vapour light. Wheat, barley, aud various other seeus were tested and in all cases a hastening of germination resulted. Strawberries cultivated in the ultra-violet light gave an increased crop of...

NATURE'S GERM-PROOF TINS. "Packed in germ-proof air-tight tins," runs the advertisement of a new line of j)reserved food. One of the most useful inventions of modern times, in deed, is that of being able to preserve fresh foods indefinitely. Like most in ventions, however, it is not original. Nature was the first to invent a germ proof package. Dozens of her precious seeds sho protects from microbes, 0110 of the best examples of her care being the banana. The skin of the banana is, in fact, not only proof against the attacks of microbes, but it protects the inner pulp from'insects and from the decay ing influences of the air. For that reason the banana is one of the best fruits to eat, for the chances are prac tically nil of it carrying disease germs. Many nuts, too, are air-proof and gcrm pfoof. If you crack, a nut and it is bail inside look carefully at the shell and you will find that a hole has been bored in it by an insect, causing it to rot;. Nature, too, protects many of her ...

FIGHT BETWEEN SHOWERS. Although willing to meet death by a sword thrust, the hero of 100 duels has shown that he objects very strongly to having wot feet. He is M. Rouzier Doreieres, a man who lias at his finger ends all the rules and formalities of tho duel. One of his chief pleasures is to be master of ceremonies at suoh meet ings . ? His courago is undoubted, but web feet or dirty boota ho cannot stand. Ho had had some small difference about a medical question, and it was decided to sottlo the quarrel by an appeal to the sword. A meeting was arranged, and at eleven o'olock punctually the ene mies faced one another "on guard." Rapier points threatened-that matter ed nothing; but the sky was grey and promised rain-and that was serious. They set to fiercely, so fiercely that the. swords were bent, and new ones had to be substituted, The sun shone dully, and at last the rain came, after 45 minutes of fierce combat. Duellists and seconds were struck with panic, and there was a wild ru...

Cressy News. 'rom our Correspondent.) TURF CLUJ5. The annual mooting of the Creasy Turf Club was held last week. MrC. A. Earles was elected president and Mr C. Irving secretary. There is a deficit of ,£(!0, which is accounted for by im provements to the course. CROP DESTROYED. W11i 1 f^ Mr Michael Cunningham, a Cape Clear farmer, was stripping crop on Monday a (ire occurred which des troyed 1")6 acres of wheat. He had hard work to save his horses and har vester. The crop was insured. CRICKET. A drawn game was played by Cressy and Warrion at Cressy on Saturday, each side scoring f)2 runs. An unpleas ant misunderstanding' occurred over the time limit. It had been agreed that if either side thought they could win by ; playing till 0.45, they could play on. Cressy put Warrion in for a second in nings, got them out cheaply, and had u ; full hour to play. They could have pro ; bably won the match outright, but the Warrion players refused to go on, much to the disgust of Cressy players. N....

OF RURAL INTEREST (By "Rusticus.") Much is being made of the disco v ry by the Country Roada Board, that veritable Land of Promise exists iu the Hey tea bury and Otway Forest districts. That is, however, an old etory for anyone who has oven a casual knowledge of the undeveloped resour ces of Victoria-undeveloped for the most part because of tho lack of facili ties which it is the province of the Country Roads Board to provido. And it is not for want of effort on the part of the peoplo who have been for more than a generation struggling to bring these rich productive areas into their own, that the need for railways and roads have not been reoognised by the authorities. . Efforts, little short of desperate have been put forth by fche settlers to have the justice of their jclaims for assistance recognised. But the evil of centralisation-the "pull" of the peoplo in tho big centres-ha3 rendered these efforts null. The Board, during a recent pilgrimage through Heytc«iiury and Otway For es...

THE CHAMPION HILL-CLIMBER. We are the Sole Agents for Victoria. Price, £65. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER GN THE ROADS THAN A BRADBURY, "ia/HICH is now ready for your inspection, at our Show Rooms. For quality, t ' cfliciew.-y. and rcfincrnont it. stands alone. It tells its own tale, and makes fast friend* by PERFECT SERVICE. It .should commend the attention of every prospective buyer of a HIGH-GLASS Motor Cycle. AGENTS: The Triumph, Bradiiury and 8.S.A. Motor Cycles. A season without a Cycle in a season wasted. Why walk, when you can get a new Cycle at W. i'Jrown and Co. 's, with an Eadic Free Wheel, from £5/10 to £12/10? All Motor and Cycle Sundries supplied at TiedVovk Prices. All kinds of Repairs receive prompt and careful attention by our efficient staff. 4 CO., STURT ST., BALLARAT. Tel. 16. Opposite Tram Terminus. J AS. SMITH, CRESWICK ROAD, BALLARAT, - MAKUS - High Grade Agricultural Machinery with the Latest Improvements. QPECIALITIES. - Travelling Chaff IO cutters, Stationary Cha...

AUCTIONS. LISMORE. «: _ FOURTH FRIDAY, JANUARY 23. 7000 Crossbred Sheep. D ALGETY &amp; CO. LTD. will hold their annual Stubble Sale on the above date. 7,000 Extra pood Sheep, including gooe lambs and young Cross bred ewes, ewes in lamb and fat sheep. Further entries being received l:>y DALGETY &amp; CO. LTD., Camperdown and I i ranches. J. W. HENDERSON, Lisrnore. "Cars can leave (Jeolong on morning of tfae sale, and return the same night. MAKE YOUR DISTRICT KNOWN. Concerning some parts of the district t)GWS comes but .seldom. This is not ^entirely our fault ; we have no miracu Jous power of knowing what is happen ing at all the places within our area of circulation. J.t is the fault of residents an the silent places. Will .some man or woman take the matter in hand and cause the siience to ?cease ? K no one else is dointr it. for your -district, will yon try on these lines ? 1 Send accounts of public and social ?events in your township and neighbour hood, such as weddings...

BUTTER FACTORY MEETING. A meeting of those interested in the Derrinallum dairying scheme was held at the Mechanics' Hall, Derrinallum, on Thursday morning of last week. Those present, were Messrs H. Alan Currie (in j the chair), C. S. Currie, J. L. Currie, i J. A. Maconochie, Wm. Oman, D. S. Oman, M.L.A., W. Stewart, S. M'Don ald, It. Horwood, T. Maconochie, F. M'Le an and J. Stewart (sec.) i Articles of association in connection with the butter factory were read and discussed. Messrs II. Alan Currie, J. L. Currie, J. A. Maconochie, D. S. Oman and Win. Oman were elected pro- ! visional directors. Mr Crawley, a Warrnambool archi tect who has had considerable experi ence in the building of butter factories, attended and gave an estimate of the cost of erecting the factory and a mana ger's residence. It is probable that 5,000 shares will be issued instead of 3,500, the number agreed upon at a previous meeting. Mr (J. Moan, of Bostock's Creek, gave some information regarding the manage ...

Monday, Jan. 12, iOl-I. Present President Win, M'Dowall, and Crs J. 0. Manifold, .1. L. Currie, , If. A. Currie, J. Kelly, Black, and Bradshaw. An apology for absence was received from Cr' IX S. Oman, M.L.A. C()RFU':si'OM)i:.\Cr;. From .J. J. Coller and Co., statIn^c that the remaining buildings of the Old White Swan hotel were being removed, andthe well filler! in. The piace was sup posed to have been :-;old four weeks previously through an assent at Lismore. - Received. From Cr. Oman, enclosing a letter from Mr .J. Charles, Cre.v;y, who on he hall' of Messrs Bell, Padgett, Arstall, King and Charles Pros., of Cressy, guaranteed .£;> on condition that the road adjoining their properties was formed before next winter. Jnhiseom munciation Cr Oman mentioned that he was under the impression that a &amp;lt; sum was placed on the estimates for j this work. The secretary stated that ; lie had written t > Cr, Oman that there \ was no money on the estimates for the work. . From Geo...

PUBLISHED EVISUY WEDNESDAY. Printed find Publhiheil l.y IIUHKRT ALK1UOP ADAMS, proprietor, at the o/Iice of tho "Jjifimore Advertiser," Ilitfh Street. Litirnorc', in the State of Victoria. IteKistcrcri at tho General Post OHice, Melbourne, for tranmniBsion an u newHpapor. WEDNESDAY! JAN. U, IIU. The Menace o-F War. AUSTRALIA, as a country, lias no practical acquaintance with war. We have never been invaded, no military battle has been fought on Australian soil, and no naval engagement has been waged in Australian waters. The only part Australians ever played in war was when volunteers went to the Soudan and South . Africa to assist the Home Government. It therefore requires imagination ?..to realise how Australia may be ^affected should there be an out break of hostilities among the Great Powers. One thing is certain, to us as well as the Home Land, the defeat of the British fleet would be an over whelming catastrophe. Britain would be starved into surrender for want of food supplie...

Mr. ERIC L. THOMAS, L.D.S., M.A.C.D., j SURGEON DENTIST, of BALl-ARAT, I TSTILL make a substantial concession on the travelling expenses of patients j V Y from this district. j Mr Thomas has the best decrees obtainable, and all Die latest appliances and j methods at his command. Work undertaken in all brandies of the profession. j Note Address -Only at 8 Bridge Street, Ballarat. | Commonwealth Bank of Bustralta HEAD OFFiCE SYDNEY This Bank is Open for all claws of GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS at EQUITABLE BUILDING, COLLINS STREET, MELBOURNE Also .it. Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, Adelaide, IVrll), llohnrl, Kridiane, Ko&amp;lt;-khani|>ton, Towmiville and London. Cubic remitlance.* made to. ami draft* drawn ori foreiirn |>hee* direct. i-'orci^n bills negotiated and collected. Letters of ereiiit i»-ui'd to any part, of th» world. liills negotiated or forwarded for collection. Ilankinir and Kvehanu'e !iii.iincx:s of every de*cript i"n iratiKu'ted wit.bin t.h&amp;lt;: Common wea...

Local &amp; General News - ^ . WHEAT HARVEST. Farmers are making good pi'ogress in stripping their wheat al ter the tempor ary check caused by Monday's rainfall, and the hum of the harvester will soon be silenced for this season. When the wheat has been carted in, advantage will no doubt be taken of the oppor tunity to do a considerable amount of ; summer fallowing. From present indi- i cations the Lismore district average will be about five bags per acre, which will compare favorably with the returns obtained on other wheat fields of the State. PROGRESS ASSOCIATION. The monthly meeting of the Listnore Progress Associotion, convened for Tuesday night, lapsed for want of a quorum, only four members being pre- | sent. The matter of the execution of a ; bond to comply with the Postal depart- . ment's conditions upon which a tele- ; phone line can be crectod between Lis- j more and Cressy was informally consi- ; dered, and the president, vice-president and secretary agreed to act as...

[TELEPHONE 468.] C. W. HARRISON, Tailor, Hosier, &amp;. Hatter, 404 Sturt St., Ballarat. (Opp. Harry Davies &amp; Co.) ALL MEASURES RETAENED. LADIES' COSTUMES A SPECIA1TY. J. A. WILLIAMSON Desires to notify Farmers and others that he is district agent FOR Wischers and Co.'s Manures, Address "STRUAN," LISMORE. J. VAUGHAN, Licensed Carrier, IS prepared to deliver goods to and from Lismore Railway Station at Strictly Reasonable Rates. Gv,''"ADDRESS LISMORE. WATER! WATER! Kilpatrick &amp; Sefton, Weil Driliers &amp; V/ater Supply Contraclors. J E bog to intimate to farmers arid landowners in and around Lis more and Cressy that our up-to-date power plants are now available to those in need of water. As these machines will only be avail able for a short period, we respectfully request you to apply early to prevent disappointment. Our prices are within the reach of all. Workmanship is guaranteed. Windmills, Tanks and Troughs sup plied and erected if required by expert trade...